When they registered considerable awe at the beauty of Cherry’s Krieghoff, they were invited to attempt a few targets with it as well.  Each nimrod seemed quietly pleased that he could score even better using the firearm with which he was more familiar.   Happily, many of sporting’s specialty targets were sprinkled throughout the course. Rolling rabbits, 90mm midis, and careening battues were cleverly interlaced with standard 110s, and though challenges included a wide variety of presentations, no target was thrown too far or to fast for the average gunner. After shooting the first 100, their first-time scores were a very respectable 63 and a pair of 64s. All three were pressing Cherry to estimate their chances in competition. Unfortunately , a new shooter’s introduction to sporting clays doesn’t always end this happily. It is my firm conviction this “hunter’s game” came to our shores some two decades ago, target setters have driven away far more new shooters from the sport than they have wooed into regular participation. This has  happened, I think, because of an inordinate attention to, and unconscious catering to, the top shooters in our game. This hero worship in sports is quite natural in America. We tend to revere our Andrettis, Mannings, Griffeys, Woods, and Jordans. It should only follow that we also place our own Krugers, Fowlers, and Carlisles on pretty high pedestals. but what the club owner or operator must realize is that sporting clays is a participant rather than a spectator sport. Imagine, if you will, bringing fans out of the stands at a Major League baseball park to play the game. It would be immediately necessary to bring the fences way in, shorten the base paths, and outlaw the fastball.
Yet, all too often we challenge our first-time sporting shooters with the equivalent of a Randy Johnson slider. Much to frequently the difficulty  factor of a course is set to satisfy the wishes of a few top competitors-at the expense of embarrassing (spell "driving away") the average shotgunner. Consider this: Frank Briganti at the National Shooting Sports Foundation told me that based on a 2006 survey by the American Sports Data Corp., almost 4 million gunners shoot sporting clays at least once per year. National Sporting Clays Association-registered competitors, however, currently total only about 20,000, a mere fraction of that huge yet largely often neglected potential. And not even all of those NSCA top-gun performers. To which group should the wise gun club owner/manager be addressing most of his attention?
Sadly, many top shooter fail to see this big picture. A few years ago, I visited a new sporting course in California, where excited shooters were crowding the trail between stations. On a subsequent stop 24 months later, however, I found precious few people using the course. "A handful of local competitors convinced me that everyone needs to shoot tough targets," the owner admitted with a weak smile. "Now, they're about the only ones who use the course. All my regulars just quit coming back." I've noted that 5-Stand installations seem especially prone to chasing away the average shotgunner. With no terrain features or natural obstructions to work with, target setters too often use excessive speed an distance o create challenges the club's top shooters prefer. Some time ago, I visited the inaugural opening of such a 5-Stand, where local gunners literally lined up all day, in a light rain, t try tis strange new game. I, too, waited my turn and shot these targets, finding them far more difficult than the average shooter would enjoy. When I returned a year later, only a comparative few were using the facility. This small nucleus of sporting enthusiasts was obviously happy with the outcome, and no one seemed overly concerned about the many new, prospective shooters who were lost-perhaps forever.
But before all of you NSCA competitors grab pen and paper or fire off an email to complain about this article to our association's headquarters, let me quickly affirm my belief that in most cases, competition is a must for club growth. Though casual shooting is the "hook" we should use to sell the first-timer on our game, their chance return for further informal fun is, by nature, too unpredictable to count on. For healthy growth, the club needs to five these recreational shooters a more compelling reason to use their facility on a regular basis. The marketing strategy to seldom used is to ease these sporadic shooters into friendly, stress-free, competitive leagues or fun shots. NSCA "registered" events can strike fear into the heart of a casual gunner, but to join friends on a league team or for an afternoon charity fund-raising shoot can equate to relaxed fun. Faithful and sincere support and encouragement from their team or squad mates can gently lead them into a greater confidence in their own ability.About the best use of leagues I recall from my travels was at South Dakota's Willow Creek Sporting Clays (605-223-3154; www.willowcreekwildlife.com), owned and operated by brothers Steve and Bob Stoeser. A huge league scoreboard posted on the clubhouse wall attests to the popularity of their program with local shooters. A finely tuned handicap system keeps competition fair, and classifications are updated after each event. They form three such leagues per year, and Steve pre-shoots the targets personally to make sure his customers will be happy with them.The importance of shooter-friendly targets at league events was impressed upon me by then owner (now retired) George Newton at North Dakota's Dakota Sporting Clays near Grand Forks (701-772-8789). At the time of my visit in 1996, this canny promoter of sporting was fielding league competition six days per week, drawing about 200 shooters. "I constantly have to encourage the target setters to make the presentations easy enough," this wis sporting merchant declared. "Every one of my league shooters is also a bird hunter, and they don't want Olympic-style challenges." Present owner Mike Elgin worked for Newton back in those days and told me that he has continued the exact same policy on target setting, his league participation now having swelled to 250. "I have about 15 NSCA-registered tournament shooters among that group," Elgin estimated. "No way will I place their desires ahead of the other 235." Inexpensive monthly registered fun shoots can be the next step in competitive shooting, and Danny White, owner/operator of Circle W Hunting Preserve & Sporting Clays in Alabama (205-966-5665 or 256-463-7846; has honed them to a fine art. When my wife Donna and I visited eight years ago, his club charged $45 for such events, which included 100 targets, lunch, and two trophies per class. The entry fee has now frown to a mere $50, White said, but the club sometimes holds two such events per month. These cost-conscious events are still growing in popularity. "I follow a certain target-setting policy for these tournaments that never varies," White explained. "I set two stations that can be aced blindfolded, two where only the top shooters can prevail, and the rest are programmed so that the average gunner will be challenged yet still enjoy the total experience." Circle W will hold the Alabama State Championship this year. When I suggested to White that he probably increase the difficulty factor the these major events, his answer was surprising. "Not really," he assured. "The top gun in these bigger tournaments breaks about 94% of his targets, so the lower classes can do pretty well. Why change a pattern that has worked all year?"
If you happen to be responsible for target setting at your own club and feel trapped between the desires of your top shooters and the needs of new and average-skilled gunners, it is possible, with thoughtful effort, to please both groups. This is made evident by the changes I've seen in Willy Cherry at Sun Mountain. When Donna and I first shot his practice course some four years ago, the experience was quite humbling. Just about all the targets were set to challenge his own high level of expertise. At our initial meeting, I subtly began talking to him about marketing techniques, like a sift first station to build confidence and an easy last stand to send the shooter home with a positive attitude. I would like to take credit for Cherry's change of attitude, but later sampling proved that my preaching had gone unheeded. Only after extensive study under target setter Mike McAlpine and much time spent with sporting clays instructor Gil Ash did the importance of the beginning and average shotgunner finally register. Shortly after this enlightenment, Donna and I found his targets as pleasantly entertaining as any we have seen elsewhere. 
To me, the most important lesson Cherry has learned during this evolutionary process is that our marketing techniques must be aimed at the masses of shotgunners out there who need to be romanced into a commitment to our sport. They will never become NSCA-registered shooters if they are disenchanted after their first, second or even third visit to a club. Proof of Cherry's sincerity about selling sporting to the newcomer can be found within a framed placard sitting on the cashier's counter at Sun Mountain Gun Club announcing "Free Sporting Clays Lessons." These are conducted by Cherry personally on weekends by appointment. While assisting my family of quail hunters during the eventful day I described in the opening, Cherry made a point that, if heeded, could improve our sport nationwide. "Though we must concentrate our efforts on not letting the beginning and average shooter slip away," this new-age promoter insisted, "we can still meet the practice needs of the more skilled competitor.
For instance, clubs with lots of acreage can install two different courses to solve this problem." As he mentioned this possibility, past visits to prestigious clubs like Nemacolin Woodlands in Pennsylvania and New Jersey's M&M Hunting Preserve came to mind, where multiple courses are used to good advantage.
"But in our case with limited space," Cherry continued, "I simply put two shooting stands at each station, offering totally different degrees of difficulty. I guess the ultimate goal should be to make everybody happy," he concluded with a confident smile.
About the happiest people in this entire scenario, however, are Richard and Kim Iverson, owners of California's Sun Mountain Gun Club (559-683-3669.  "We had zero members when we took this operation over in 2004," Richard offered as his face beamed with pride. "Now, we have over 700 and are still growing." The club also holds seven registered tournaments per year, and its Ronald McDonald charity shoot draws bigger crowds every time it's scheduled. Thanks to its marketing to the masses, the sun shines brightly at Sun Mountain.

    Considering the extreme distances my wife Donna and I travel to sample sporting clays courses each year, it seems rather ridiculous that we had to be called and invited to visit a facility within an hour and a half of our home in central California. New owner Richard Iverson assured me that his Sun Mountain Gun Club near the little town of Coarsegold was fine-tuned for sporting clays. His goal was to perfect the finest shooting club in the entire state.

Actually, Donna and I had shot this course several years previously and were not greatly impressed. Presentations, to us, seemed to lack imagination,and basic mistakes were evident, like throwing dark targets against a dark background. But the hilly, timbered terrain, we realized, would be ideal for the design of a quality course.  For this sampling, Jim Stephens, my old quail hunting student from San Diego, drove up to help with the project. He brought his wife Dea with her beautiful Beretta, and together the four of us shot through the various challenges. Donna and I found there was a great improvement in the presentations, and easier access to the stations increased our overall pleasure.